Sunday, April 13, 2014

General Conference!!!

Hello family and friends!

Ok, Im gonna get the news out of the way so you dont worry!

I am fine. Tuesday morning we got a call from President saying that Hna Perez was going to be transferred to another area. I didnt think my prayers would be answered so fast! Thank goodness. So by noon we were in Viña, exchanging companions. Hna Perez went to Quilpué Centro with an ex-Sister Training Leader. And I got a new companion! Her name is Hermana Call, and YES she is gringa! And she is from COLORADO! Colorado Springs. She's 22 and has 13 months in the mission. :) She went to BYU Idaho but recently transferred to BYU and will go there when she gets back from the mish! She loves Harry Potter and She's the Man, and 17 Again, and all of my favorites. We have had an awesome week, and General Conference just topped it all off! :)

Last Monday was a horrible day, but after emailing you guys, I felt a lot better. And what made it even better was that Cinthia Gallegos and Milsy came to El Plan to go shopping with us! They bought me new shoes cuz they couldnt stand me wearing those old ones anymore. haha. And we also went out for ice cream. Milsy even skipped school to make my day better! Do I have the best convert and returned less active? Yes, I do. I am so grateful for them and for all the love they give me when I am so far from home. They were an answer to many prayers. :)

This week I have seen how much my Heavenly Father loves me. SO MUCH. Sometimes I am just ignorant, and sometimes I just take it for granted. But I really am grateful and I recognize all that He has given me. I am so blessed.

OH! And also, just so you guys dont worry, the tsunami was in the north of Chile. The sirens went off in all the coasts of Chile, and we heard them go off Tuesday night, but we are absolutely fine up here in Playa Ancha - a wave would never reach here. An earthquake could reach here though, so we are prepared for that. :)

So, as for the work this week - we found a TON of new investigators and its been lots of fun with Hna Call. We finally got a hold of Oriana from the Solis Castro family - we got to teach her the basics again - the Book of Mormon. We also found an antiguo investigator, Ricardo, who has read each of the BoM, Bible, D&C, Pearl of Great Price, Jesus the Christ, etc more than 6 times! He KNOWS its all true but he says that he is not worthy enough to get baptized. Numberless missionaries have tried to get him to see why he needs to get baptized - and we are the next to come! Its really sad how he thinks so low of himself... he really is such a great person.

We also got serenaded in the street by a dude who composes music and lyrics about aliens. Resisting laughter was one of the most difficult things I have ever done.

Oh! And I threw up. Just because we got like 3 Onces given to us and then we had to book it up a steep hill, and there was a lot of other stressful things going on. But despite all of that, it was a good night, and I got a blessing from my zone leader. I am so very grateful for the Priesthood and for the love that God has for me (and for all of you!).

When we were in Valpo for the General Conference, we did some contacting inbetween sessions. I saw a colectivo from Recreo and stopped to talk and we contacted him and he told me that he remembered me from Recreo! (I used to wave to all the colectivos passing by.) And he said, "All of us colectivo drivers from Recreo really miss you! You need to come back to Recreo!" Wow - that was more than 6 months ago! I love Recreo.

And now for the best part - General Conference. I got to watch everything (including the Women's conference) in English, with all the other gringos. We had lots of fun and were blown away by the talks. They were absolutely amazing. I went into Conference weekend with a list of questions and doubts - and came out with every question and doubt answered. Pure miracles, let me tell you.

Some of my favorite talks were by Eyring, Holland (the Kracken), Andersen, Uchtdorf, Bednar, Perry, Monson, and Corbridge.

I like this quote from Holland: "YES IT IS WORTH IT." and "Defend your beliefs with courtesy and compassion, but DEFEND THEM! Take heart - Christlike love can change the world!" "WWJD will not always bring a popular response." And from Uchtdort: There is one thing we can do to take away bitterness in our life: Gratitude."

Really, all of the talks were absolutely amazing and inspired. I wish I had hours to converse everything that I learned. :)

I hope you guys all enjoyed Conference - Im excited to reread the talks when they come out in the Liahona. :)

Thank you for all your prayers and all your love - it means so much to me, and I know that God listens.